Govt looking to improve public transport sector

SINGAPORE: Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said the
government is studying how it can help bus operators SBS and SMRT
grow their fleet and drivers in a sustainable
manner.

He said the issues are complex, and details will be
announced early this year.

He said the government will do this even as it
expands the rail network.

Mr Lui was speaking at the opening ceremony of two new MRT stations
on the Circle Line, namely the Marina Bay and Bayfront
stations.

"LTA will be putting in place a programme to partner the bus
operators in ramping up bus capacity significantly over the next
few years. This will allow us to reduce crowding and waiting time
for commuters, and provide some relief until the ongoing works to
significantly increase rail capacity are completed," said Mr
Lui.

Mr Lui had previously said that to boost bus capacity in a timely
fashion, it cannot be left to the operators alone.

LTA's review is expected to look into common complaints of
commuters - such as congestion and bus frequency.

Turning to the rail network, Mr Lui said the two new Circle Line
stations will significantly enhance connectivity to the Marina Bay
area.

With the new Bayfront station, commuters no longer need to take a
10- to
15-minute walk to get to the Marina Bay Sands integrated
resort.

The average daily ridership on the Circle Line is expected to reach
some 500,000 with the new extension, compared to the current
ridership of about 300,000.

Other attractions within reach are the Helix Bridge and the Gardens
by the Bay, which will open later this year.

they just need to give sg a week of public holiday to work on
the smrt tracks.. but knowing how sg ggovt is so money minded i
think they would rather havee the breakdowns and get free money
from smrt thhen lose money from other business sectors

We've had three terms of transport ministers who did nothing,
let's see if Lui Tuck Yew will be the fourth.

Raymond Lim presided over the largest hikes in all of
Singapore's history and oversaw the decay of SMRT.

His 2-term predecessor Yeo Cheow Tong said the future was in
trains and not buses, but did NOTHING to expand the rail network.
As transport minister, he couldn't even provide a proper single
feeder bus for his own estate.

So far, what has Lui Tuck Yew done except cut COEs within 4
months of the election?

They can only make changes, here and there, but the changes
always do not mean improvement. And always being in a different set
of problems.

Is the EZ-Link system an improvement? It only reverses the
problem of fare cheats.

It's an improvement over the plastic magnetic farecards.

Some decisons have proven to be unwise. For example, I think
that merging SMRT with TIBS was a bad, bad idea. Why? When the MRT
broke down in the nineties, both TIBS and SBS rushed to provide bus
bridging, because the MRT was under a statutory board, so neither
bus corporation had any commercial reason to not help.

But this time, because it was its own problem, SMRT had to
bridge the NSL. It apparently didn't have enough buses to do this
properly.

they added 2 million people. of course they need to expand
the transport system to cope. thats an expansion, not
improvement.

It like planning for a feast, but forgetting about the
toilet.

The first problem to hit was housing for the influx. No plan was
made to house them. So they rent out unsold HDB flats to the
construction companies. Until the heartlanders complain. Then the
build domitories.

Then the transport system. The transport system, trains and
buses, was based on studies of the local population centres
and travel pattern. The almost 1 million foreigners were
not factored into the calculations. That was a fatal error that
caused the system to fail.

When such a large number of people come in in a short space of
time, the infrastructure has to be ready.